The Crow: Redemption
by Raven Poe
Summary: She killed for a living. Because of her, her younger sister got killed as well as herself. In order for the sisters to be together again she must pay a price. Will she pay it or will she give up her only chance to be reunited with her sister for something
1. Default Chapter

A/N: Hey, this is the first time I'm posting something so let me know what ya think and I'll see about adding more. R&R if yall like it I might put more up but I just want to know if it sounds interesting enough to continue. Thanx. ï

It is dark today. Then again, it is always dark to me. A heavy fog hangs in the air, suffocating, as if the very air is crying. It is going to happen tonight, I can feel it. Maybe this will end it. Maybe I will be free after this. I hope so. I am so tired. I want to lie down and rest, finally rest. There is something different about this one though. It may be my last. The sun is starting to set. Soon it will be time. I turn as I hear the cry of a crow and see him come in to land on my shoulder. I look at him, hoping this time he will answer me, but as always, he is silent. Sensing his readiness, I jump from my perch to the ground far below using his wings to slow my fall. Landing softly on the wet pavement, I walk into the wall of fog using it to cloud my presence as it swallows me whole.

I hear their laughter. Strange, it is somehow familiar. Like something in a dream long ago forgotten. There is a child crying. A man's voice is begging them to stop, begging them to spare the child. For some reason I feel as if I want to go to that child, to help her. I want to grab her before they can kill her, but I know that I can not. It is part of my curse, my payment, my redemption.


	2. chapter 2

Suddenly I hear the child shout, "Brother!" I didn't know what came over me. For a moment I longer care about my redemption. I just know that I am not going to let those men hurt that girl. I am about to run out, my sword raised but the man's voice stops me.

"Alright," he shouted, "alright. I'll do it. Just don't hurt her."

There was a silence that filled the night air, broken only by the tiny sobs of the little girl. I stand dead still, frozen in my tracks. I wait. Wait to see what will happen.

"You just saved her life, Christian. Next time you won't be so lucky," said a new voice. My eyes widen as I register the voice. Jerking up in a spastic reaction, the memories come flooding back from a life long ago.

"_Deuce, let her go! I screwed up, not her. She has nothing to do with us. She's just a little girl."_

_"But she is a beautiful little girl," he said running a massive hand down her small, tear streaked cheek._

_"What are you going to do to her?" I asked him. Chills ran down my spine at the sight of him pawing at her._

_"I'm going to teach her how to have a little fun and I'm going to teach you to obey," he growled looking at me out of the corner of his eye with an evil sneer._

_Suddenly my world dropped out from beneath me and my eyes widened in shock._

_'No,' I thought, 'he couldn't do that. He wouldn't do that. Not to a twelve year old girl.'_

_But I realized how wrong I was as I was lurched from my thoughts by the sound of ripping cloth. I looked over at Deuce who had ripped my sister's shirt apart and was now savagely biting at her small breasts._

_"No, damn it, Duce!" I shouted, struggling to free myself from the grip of the goons that were holding me. _

_One of them stepped forward and punched me, hard, in the stomach, stilling me instantly. My knees buckled and I dropped to the wet ground, tears rolling down my cheeks. I refused to look at Duce while he rapped my sister. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to drown out the sounds of his grunts and her screams, muffled by the duck tape on her mouth. When I heard Duce hiss as he came in my sister, I dared a small glance up. Tears were welling out of my sisters shut eyes as she laid there, her small body being pressed into the ground by Duce's weight. Then I noticed the blood. Oh God, so much blood. It was pooling around her lower body and I knew that her small body had been ripped apart from the inside, unaccustomed to Duce's sudden and massive entry._

_A blinding rage like I never knew before swelled up within me with a speed and an intensity that scared me. With a strangled cry, I jumped up, scaring the guys holding me. Using their fear I easily tossed them off me and I lunged toward Duce, murder in my eyes, mind, and heart._

It takes all my strength to suppress the same strangled scream from that night as the memories tear at my heart. It is my fault that they killed her. It is my fault that she had been dragged into that mess in the first place. My muscles tense up, trying to restrain myself from running out there and killing him now, but Crow must have sensed it and his talons dig into my shoulder reminding me to stay put. I look up at him and sigh, my tension slowly ebbs away. I will get my chance he tells me. Hearing their retreating footsteps I sigh once more and sheath my sword in the scabbard that is slung over my back. Taking one last glance at Crow, I turn and silently walk back through the fog.


	3. chapter 3

"How could it be him?" I scream at Crow. "Why is it him?"

Crow just looks at me. I sense him telling me to be glad it was him so that I could now avenge my sister.

"I am glad that it is him. I can finally let her soul rest. It's just...," I can't finish. I don't know how to explain the turmoil of emotions that are inside of me.

"I just don't want that little girl to end up like Alexia," I say finally on a sigh.

Crow bows his head once as if in agreement.

"I'll sacrifice my redemption if I have to to keep that from happening," I say suddenly a fire of determination burning in my eyes.

Crow gives me a piercing stare and I shift uncomfortably under his gaze.

"I guess it's just the human in me," I explain. "I can't let that girl get hurt."

Crow's gaze finally relents and he looks away. I suddenly sense that this is as close to an act of submission to the idea as I am going to get.

_"Come here Salvation," Christian said trying to hold back his tears._

_"No, I don't think so," Deuce said keeping his grip on Salvation's neck._

_"What do you mean? You got me to do what you want. You don't need her anymore. She has nothing to do with this."_

_"Just think of her as a bit of insurance."_

_"What are you talking about Deuce?" Christian asked feeling a rush of anger dry up all the tears in his eyes._

_"I don't want you to mess this job up, Christian. I'm going to be keeping her to make sure that doesn't happen."_

Christian stared out of the small hotel window in his dark room. Rain streaked down the window pane, distorting the red neon glow of the hotel sign. Turning at a small tap on his door, Christian got up from his seat on the bed and walked to the door. He glanced out of the eye hole and saw no one. Christian took a step back and quickly checked for the gun tucked into the waist of his jeans. Keeping one hand on the gun, Christian slowly unlocked, unbolted, and unchained, the door.

Christian slowly opened the door a crack. After peeking out and seeing no one he opened it a little wider. Hearing a caw from below, he glanced down and saw a crow hop over his foot and into the room.

"What the....?" Christian said watching the crow hop through the room then flutter up onto the single bed.

Taking another quick glance out the door, Christian shut it and replaced the lock, bolt, and chain.

"Thank you for opening the door," I say quietly from behind him.

Christian whirled around, gun raised and aimed. Where the crow had once been on the bed, I now crouched. My head is bowed looking down at the bed, elbows rest on my knees as my fingers play with an invisible thread on the comforter. Dark, wet hair hangs past my shoulders, hiding my face.

"Who the hell are you?" Christian asked keeping the gun steady and pointed at my lowered head.

I look up at Christian finally and saw him take a step back. I would laugh if it was in me. That is the usual reaction I receive when people first glance at my face. White paint covers the skin of my face and upper neck. My eyes are thickly outlined with black making their brownish green depths seem to burn with an inner fire. Twin single black bolts run vertically on each side of my face, almost touching my hair line, stopping at my eyebrows and starting up again just under my eye, and then stopping just past my nose. My lips are painted a deep rich black with two single bolts starting at the corners of my mouth and angling down slightly almost reaching my jaw bones.

"Where the fuck did you come from?" he asked shakily with his gun still aimed but his grip a bit looser.

"Crow brought me in here. I needed to talk to you," I quietly reply.

"Who brought you?"

Before I can answer Crow flies over from his dark corner and lands on my shoulder.

"Crow," I repeat and stroking his throat just under his beak.

"Uh, okay, and just what is it that you needed to talk to me about?" he asked finally starting to lower his gun.

I stare hard into his gray eyes, causing him to shift uncomfortably.

"Deuce."


End file.
